On his new LP, Harvest Highway, Jimmy Rankin hits the road again, time traveling and traversing far-flung destinations — along with his native Nova Scotia, of course — through his singular brand of east coast folk-rock. The Cape Breton icon’s eighth solo album is rich in the narrative songwriting traditions that Rankin has been honing for nearly his whole life, filled with crackling yarns and poignant chronicles about feverish marriages in Thunder Bay, unmoored Newfoundlanders, lovers on the run, and fallen soldiers in France. 

This collection of songs is a continuation from Rankin’s last record, Moving East – an homage to the coast. These are the first full-length records that he recorded in his home province with fellow Nova Scotian, Joel Plaskett. On Harvest Highway, they rounded out the fantastic crew of musicians including JP Cormier, Ronald Hynes, Dale Murray, and Jordan Murphy – an all east coast cast.

Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter Dan Pallotta is sharing “Kickin’ a Stone,” the latest single from his upcoming sophomore album, Winnebago Dreams (set for release on November 17th), a folk reflection which is imbued with child-like wonder.

Pallotta paints the scene that inspired the songwriting: “I go for a three and a half mile walk each morning on narrow country roads around our home. I pass cows and chickens, sheep and their little lambs, sometimes a few miniature horses pulling a small coach that my neighbor Peter drives around. It’s my favorite time of the day, and over the years I’ve developed a group of friends that are passing the other way and we stop and chat. 

So, what inspired the song was, literally, kicking a stone down the road like I used to do when I was a kid—like we all did‚ trying to see how far I could get it to go, and realizing that such a pursuit is not a frivolous waste of time. Doing the mindless things we did as children—daydreaming, playing with direct, kicking rocks down the road, these things are good for the soul.”

The warm and simple arrangement features a subtle drum groove which adds texture to Pallotta’s reflections. “We’re all living together in the ‘I don’t know,’” he sings. Reflecting on these lines, the artist states that “we all live with existential dread. But we talk about the weather instead of the deep, deep mystery that is life, instead of talking about the things that keep us awake at night.”

The beauty found in art, as in life, is about friction: joyful songs with sorrowful lyrics, minor key riffs over doo-wop chord progressions, or a post-communist refugee songwriter surrounded by a cushion of North American veterans of guitar pop. Adam Sabla is an example of all three, and leading the band Loose Fang seems to be a perfect fit for him. The Czechoslovak-Canadian tunesmith was lucky to find a full band of collaborators (Jay Slye, Catherine Hiltz, and Ian Browne) and bunker down in the port town of Steveston, British Columbia to create the full length Live Wires, Black Sheep, a title that reflects their penchant for guitar buzzing and finding the wandering souls of the nearly deceased guitar generation. 

The title of their focus track “Goodbye” says it all – it’s about a breakup after a long, co-dependent relationship – the kind you’re in when you don’t know how to be because you’re young. It’s flawed but formative and impassioned – both during and after.

Kandle can weave magic so powerful because she feels it too, she is out here in the darkness with us. A true music industry veteran, she has been a powerhouse in the scene with an impressive career spanning over a decade.

“Live A Lie” is the first single off her next album to be released spring 2024. Coming back bolder than ever, self-produced and in charge, this fearless chanteuse shows us once again that her cinematic, raw songwriting can’t be packaged up and put in one simple category. With a wide range of influences ranging from Portishead to PJ Harvey, “Live A Lie” is a hypnotic taste from one of Canada’s finest songwriters.

There are lots of people who sing but not everyone has a voice. Apryll Aileen is a classically trained pianist with a touch of science and spirituality; an alt-pop soulful vocalist, guitarist and songwriter from Atlantic Canada. She transcends genres, creating her own undefinable sound with influences coming from pop, rock, electronic, folk and R&B. She doesn’t imitate – she creates.

Apryll‘s new full-length release, Bad Things, spans love, heartbreak and adventure while dancing through inner shadow work. It is an album that inspires and uplifts while simultaneously shining a light on that which drags us down. It is one woman’s journey on the road as an artist, forging her own path and exploring the depths of her soul through internal introspection and connection with others. Written between Los Angeles, New York, Atlantic Canada and the United Kingdom, Bad Things was produced by Grammy nominated Daniel Lafrombe (John Legend, Amy Wadge).

Focus track, “In These Flames,” plays with fire, toys with trust issues, and hints at the double life of being a spy. Trust can be a volatile agent; when violated, it can either go up in flames or slow burn over the heat of passionate embers. What happens next is a mystery.